Garment hanger



E. l. REUER GARMENT HANGER Dec. 18, 1956 Filed Set. '7, 1954 .26 Emily K Reuer IN VEN TOR.

BY WW E Unit Thepresent invention relates to: garmenthangers and more particularly. relates to an1adjustablelgarrnentihanger for. the hanging: of varying:sizedandsliaped: garments as well as garments of diiferentiweights.

A primary object of: theinvention isxin; the provision,

of a novel adjustable garment hanger wherein the hanger is laterally adjustable to-adjust to-d-ifler shoulder sizes, shoulder paddings and. fabric weights-in accordance with the type of garment to be hung.

A; highly important object of the inventionisinthe provision of such an adjustable garment hanger which is contoured in a novel manner to fit in a natural manner the shoulder seams of garments without creating uneven hanging of the garment and without creating any undue stresses on the shoulder seams.

A further object of the invention is in the provision of an adjustable garment hanger which may be both frictionally adjustable among its varying expanded and contracted positions as well as positively locked in any given position when desired.

It is another object of the invention to provide an adjustable garment hanger which consists of only two moving parts, which is exceedingly light weight in construction and durable in use. 1

These, together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent, reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like nu merals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the garment hanger constituting the present invention;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the garment hanger taken substantially along the plane of section line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of one element of the garment hanger; and

Figure 4 is a front elevation view of a modified garment hanger.

In the drawings, the garment hanger constituting the invention is designated in its entirety by the numeral 10. Essentially, the hanger consists of three basic parts, first and second U-shaped members 12 and 14 constituting the adjustable hanger and the supporting or suspension hook assembly 16.

Each of the U-shaped elements 12 and 14 includes upper and lower legs interconnected by a web. The upper and lower legs of the U-shaped, member 12 are designated by the numerals 18 and 20 and the web of this element is designated by the numeral 22. The upper and lower legs of the member 14 are designated by the numerals 24 and 26, respectively and the web is designated by the numeral 28.

Each of the U-shaped members 12 and 14 is tubular and the ends of the legs 18 and 20 telescope within the legs 24 and 26 so that the U-shaped members 12 and 14 may be drawn apart from one another or pressed toward one States Patent "ice 2, another by sliding the legs 18 and 20 of: the member 12 within the legs 24. and 26 of the member 14.

The major portion of the legs 18 and 24 constituting the upper legs of the members 12 and1'4, respectively are curved but possess some inherent flexibility so that asthe legs are slid one within the. other, they will frictionally retain themselves in any adjusted position desired by the user of the hanger.

The webs 2S and 22 are substantially vertical and connected tothe major portion of thelegs 18'and-24by the humped' portions: 30 and 32,' respectively, which are adapted to give shoulder support to agarment suspended from the hanger.

The lower legs 20 and 26 of the members; 12 and-14am substantially horizon-tally aligned: asis customary with garment hangers.

To effect a positive lock againstiexpansion or retraction of: the. hanger member 10;.the lower leg. 20=of the member 12 is provided with aplu-rality: off longitudinally spaced apertures 34 adapted'to;mate withta-corresponding aperture'in the lower: leg 26.: of the-:mernber 141 The aperture inthe member 114 is designated by the numeral 36. Fastener ."sfi'i-extending throughxtheaperture 36 and-one of the registering: apertures: Mip-ositively secure the members together. ina-ny. adjusted-position;

in orderz-toprovide; a SUPPGItiHgFhOOJk assembly'which:

will adjust with the garment hanger to be centered at all times regardless of the expanded or retracted position of the U-shaped members 12 and 14, the specific suspension hook assembly 16 previously mentioned is utilized. This suspension hook assembly 16 consists essentially of a flexible strip 40 having a transverse slot 42 adjacent each end thereof. A supporting hook 44 is secured to the central portion of the flexible strip 40.

To mount the assembly 16, the strip 40 is simply flexed so that the upper leg 24 of the member 14 is received in the slots 42 at the ends of the flexible strip 40, the slots partaking in the shape of the cross-sectional shape of the tubular leg 24 being only slightly greater in size than the crossasectional size of the leg 24 whereby the top and bottom edges of the slots 4-2 will catch the top and bottom surfaces of the leg 24 and prevent the natural resiliency of the strip from straightening the strip out and consequently locking the resilient strip 49 in any selected position along the leg 24. To slide the assembly 16 to a new position, it is simply necessary to pull the ends of the flexible strip 40 toward one another and move the strip along the leg 24 or the leg 18 or in partial straddling relation to both legs, depending on where the probable center would be. Then release this action and the strip 40 will flex into frictional engagement and remain in place.

In Figure 4 there is shown a slightly modified hanger designated by the numeral 46 and distinguishing over the previously described hanger by virtue of omitting the shoulder humps 3t and 32. Consequently, the two U- shaped members 12 and 14 remain exactly as previously described with the exception that the humps 3i and 32 are no longer present, the legs 18 and 24 joining the Web portions 28 and 22 along a smooth curved line.

In both modifications, the resulting structure is a twopiece adjustable garment hanger with an adjustable suspension hook assembly for maintaining the garment hanger centered when in suspended position regardless of the expansion or retraction of the adjustable elements of the hanger.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will be readily understood and further explanation is believed to be unnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur 4120 those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction shown and described,

and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. An adjustable clothes hanger comprising a pair of substantially U-shaped hanger elements each including a pair of legs interconnected by a Web, the legs of one member slidably telescoping within the legs of the other, and a supporting hook assembly movably mounted on one of the legs for suspending the hanger, said supporting hook assembly including an elongated resilient flat strip having slots adjacent each end thereof of substantially the same cross-sectional shape as said one of said legs, said one of said legs being received in said slots and normally retaining said strip in a bowed position, and a supporting hook attached to said strip.

2. In an adjustable clothes hanger including an elongated supporting element, a supporting hook assembly carried by said supporting element, said assembly comprising an elongated, resilient bowed strip having an opening adjacent each end thereof through which said supporting element extends, a supporting hook attached to said strip intermediate the ends thereof, the strip openings aligning with one another and loosely receiving said supporting element for movement therealong as the ends of the strip are bowed toward parallel relation with one another in opposition to the resilience of the strip, the strip edges defining said openings clamping said strip fixedly to said supporting element as the ends of said strip are biased toward alignment with one another by the resilience of the strip.

3. An adjustable clothes hanger including an extensible clothes supporting element, a hook assembly movably carried by said supporting element for centering thereon, said hook assembly comprising an elongated, flat, resilient strip having a slot adjacent each end thereof, said supporting element extending through the strip slots and bowing said strip to an arcuate shape whereby the resiliency of the strip tending to return the same to a flat condition clamps the strip fixedly to said supporting element.

4. A hook suspension assembly for attachment to an elongated supporting element comprising an elongated, resilient, normally flat strip having slots adjacent the ends thereof, and a supporting hook carried by said strip intermediate the ends thereof, said strip being adapted to loosely receive a supporting element through said slots as the ends of the strip are bowed toward parallel relation with one another and tightly clamp the strip to the supporting element as the normal resilience of the strip biases the same toward a flat condition.

Miller .Nov. 15, 1949 Ozlek Apr. 10, 1951 uni-.4, 

